Automatic weighing-machine.



G. HOEPNER.

AUTOMATIC WBIGHING MACHINE.

nrmonmn nun JULY 20, mos.

' ssums-snsnzr 1.

956,853. I Patented may 3, 1910."

G. HOEPNER.

AUTOMATIC WBIGHING MACHINE. .APPLIOATIOI nun JULY :0, 1902;.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/G/ J1! it Z 1L a a fibzeaaeak j t lizmerzi'or;

G. HOEPNER.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION rum) JULY 20, 1908.

' Patented May 3, 1910.

s SHEETS-8833'! a.

(ie'oryellganer Willi-e66 ea WWW/i a. HOEPNBR.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOI FILED JULY 20, 1908.

956,853.- Patented May 3, 1910.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

G. HOEPNBR.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

m 7 I W W F APPLIOATIOI FILED JULY 20, 1908.

. 'whidh form a par t'of this UNIT D sT-ATEs PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HOEPNER, F CHICAGt), ILLINOIS.

Auronmm wEIGHING-micmu s.

Specification of Letters Patent. t t May 3, 1910,

Application filed July 20, 1908. Serial No. 444,316.

To all whom it concern:

- Be it known thatI, Grouse I-lonrnnn, a citizen of theUnited States,residing at Chii to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,such as will enable others skilled. in the art to which it ertains tomake and use the same, reference ein had to the accompanying drawings,

speci cation. .My invention relates to machines for automaticallyand-progressively se arating' a mass of loose material into a plhrality,of equal units of a predetermined weight, and

Y has for its object to simplify and. improve .ti'es, yet there 4 whichhave ofiered such difiiculties that it such machines.

Although most of the materials whichit is desired to market inindividual packages have heretofore been successfully weighed outautomaticall in predetermined quantiave been some. materials hasheretofore been found expedient to weigh and package them entirely byhand.

This hasbeen trueof materials of a sticky character of which seededraisins are anexample. In 'seedin raisins the seeds are forced outwardlyrough the skin leaving perforations in one or both sides of the raisinsthrough which the pulp exudes more or less, thus rendering the raisinsextremely sticky and causing them to tend to adhere together and to anyapparatus with which it is attempted to handle them.'. p

A further object of the resent invention rovide a-machine which will actupon secde raisins and similar sticky materials so as to se arate themautomatieallyin an efiicient'anreliable mannerinto cqualsmall units of apredetermined weight.

A further object of the present invention. is to provide a weighingmachine wherein" the mag'or portion of the load is separated from't- \0main mass independently of the weighing .reeeptacle or scale beam whilethe com )letion of the load is under the control Ofillt} receptacle orscale beam.

.A further ob'ect of the present invention to provide a simple and novelarrangement for relieving the weighingreceptacle from the shock incidentto dumping the major portion of the load into it.

provide a novel form of hopper wherein the tendency of goods to wedgethemselves in place-1s completely counteracted.

The various features of novelt whereby my. invention is characterized wiI be hereinafter ointed out with particuLn-ity in-the claims, ut for afull inrdeistanding of my invention. and of-its various objects,includin those above enumerated as well as others, reference is to behad to the following detailed description'taken in commotion-with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a battery of three machines arranged inaccordance with a preferred form of in invention; Fi". 2 is a viewlooking toward the right of 1, showing the extreme right. hand machinein the same condition as in Fi". 1; Fig. 3 is a view looking toward theleft in Fig. 1, showing the left hand machine in a slightly differentposition fromthat indicated in Fig. 1, namely in the condition whereinthe weighing receptacle has just received the main portion of its load;Fig. 4 is a longitudinul sectionv through theconunon hopper for theseveral machines; Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-4) of Fig. 4; Fig.6 is a fragment of the aukiliary hop1.)cr'showing the discharge gatesopen; Fig. 7 is a section taken through the point of meeting of the mainand auxiliary hoppers, showing the main gate or valve and the operatingmechanism therefor; Fig. 8 is a, seclion taken on line S -S of Fig. 7,and Fig. 9 is a fragment of an eccentric shaft associated with the mainhop er. p v

, In the airings I have illustrated the various features of ny'inventionns applied to machines of the. kind disclosed in my Patent855,57S;'but it will of course lwunderstmnl .that my invention is notlimited to this particular form of weighing machine but. its variousfeatures may be used wherever they may be of advantage or utility.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a hopper which suppliesthreeauxiliary hop I pers B. The materialto be wei hed is fed to thelarge hopper in any suita le manner;

7 and from this hopper to three .difierent hoppers B.

in packaging seeded raisins is that the rai sins stick tpgetherand alsoupon thewalls of the hoppers'and funnels through which Y't-hree'separate sections A for all. The two outer downwardly in it is.necessary to pass' accurate and reasonably rap-1d WQlghlI1 heretoforebeen practically impossible.

has

ince

' the trouble begins as soon as themain hopper is reached I have devisedan arrangement whereby the raisins will be fed from the hopper in asubstantially positive manner without, however, damagmg'themh I have"shown the main'hopper asdivided into by forming in the bottom thereoftwo upwardly rojecting wedge-shaped members A. A escri-ption of one ofthe sections will'thereforesufiice clined sidewalls of the hoppersection are removed so. as to leave the hopper' open. side by side andclosely-together within each of the openings are a number'ofstrips Q,these strips completely" filling the Lying oP n iPg-Q The upper ends-of'each'set 'of strips are prefera y suspended from a shaft C by means oflinks G which are loosely carried upon saidshafts and pivotally'connectedto' the tops otthe members Ci The lower ends of these memberssurround and are borne by eccentrics C fixed'toshafts Cf arrangedclosely to'the sides of the hoppers.

It will be seen that 'upon-rotating'the shafts C the elements of whicheach oftthe two side walls of the hopper is composed"7will be moved upand down, the up er ends -of these elements traveling throu h a slightarc about the shafts C while t e lower ends-are moved inwardlyand'outwardly a distance corresponding to the throw of the eccentrics.The angular positions of the eccentrics upon their shafts are notthesame, a convenient arrangement being such that each of the ele-. mentsis in its raised osition whenthe two acent elements are-1n theirlowermost positions and vice versaa This isthe arrangement shown, itbein .most clearly indicated in Fig. 4. It will t us be seen that, byr0- tatmg the shafts Cf in any suitable manner the two converging sidewalls of the hopper are made to move with a gentle undulating effect thelower ends having'a much greater movement than the upper ends and actingcontinually to lift the mass of the hopper upwardly and toward thecenter. the eccentrics the efiectiveness of the mova le walls isincreased since a eater loosening action upon the material 15 obtained.

The inner surfaces of the members C are preferably corrugated asindicated at 0,

them. Consequently material in *portunity tb become wedge to adhere tothe sides. a

the packages or cartons a plunger'H-may be 105. iese-plungers are .so

. both rapid and 'accurate' I have mppen v, desired a screw D all threeof the hopper sections, one end D scribed the material to hoppers thematerial 'ing. receptacles E; of which-'there-is one 1 take any suitaably also; made-bell-shafped, being .wider. at the bottom'thanlati-theitop so. that after a. .load has -been: accurately weighedit will be timed that afterj 't .posited in the cartons pn'd press thecharges to .a ipredetermmed cvel.

closed position dependin these. corruglations affording I the members agrip upon t may extend across of the screw being right-handed and theother end, D, being left-handed. By rotating this screw the material isslowly from the ends toward the middle and t is maintained in apartially loosenedstate so that the work of the movable side wallsoi':the hopper is diminished and consequently.

their effectiveness increased.

From the several hoppcr'sections 111st dethe auxiliary hoppers B.Theseauxiliary hoppers'are made slightly bell-shaped, that is, largeratthe bottom than at the top. Consequently any material which isdeposited in these auxiliary hoppers has no opin place or even rom theauxiliary passesto the wei hteneath each ho er. These-receptacles mayhle-formf but they are preferdischarged with certainty: and in itsentirety,

weighed is fed into e material contained within the 7 insuring thatupon-the discharge of the re- .c e taclel-nan' accurately weighed unitwill be de iveredi After. the material has been d1s-' chargedfrox'n therece' tacles it may conven-.

iently be received-in chutes-F- having .at their lower-endsspoutsf aboutwhich'cartons or other'packa'ges G may be telescoped.

'Ifit is desired to compress. thematerial 1n provided for-traveling upand own through each of the spouts T 'e' charges have been'dethe:plungers descend make. the weighing operationload of each receptacleindependently of the? receptacle and then, e1 1tirel'y' \f ree, addinreceptaclejis overwhile the receptacle 1s thereto a drip until thelanced. and, in, overbalancing, checks the drip. To this end eachof theauxiliary hoppers is provided with a discharge gate I of any suitabletype, but preferfa 1y made of two sections I and-I as indicated. Thesegates are so arranged that if they are moved slightl t'ermined point ineither irection. they will continue until they :reachthe open or-theuponthe direction :in which they are started. A very effective formofgate is inFig.

to the lower en of the'auxi liary hopper "as that illustrated mostclearly 6. The ate "1' is pivotally connected.

beyond a prede- 45 the upper flange z" and partially opens the gates.

at i. 'lhis-gatewhen in its closed position;-

1 covers-the larger portion oftheoutlet at the arranged to exten bottomof the hopper, tube 11 for con-; taining a suitable rolling or shiftingweight 2, WlUCll 'I have illustrated as consisting-of.

mercury; is secured to this gate member at. a point above its (point ofsu port, it beingtransverse y. \Vhen the gate is in the ositionshownin-;Fig. 6 the mercury is at he left-hand end of the tube and holds thegate .in its open position." Upon swinging'the gate about its )ivot soas to bring the tube approximately orizon- 'tal the mercury will shiftto the ri 'ht-hand end of the tube and the gate willthen close bygravity- The. gate I is'pivoted at one side of the hopper as' at 5* andis provided witlrau arm which is. adapted to be ene gaged by an arnr if?projecting laterally from the other gatesort-hat when the ma1ngatecloses the jauxillarygate. 1s also"caused to ateis preferably madeclose. The auxiliary t n 0 so 1 W1 swing open so that when free to bygravity; consequently there is no need of a positive connection betweenthe twogates. The auxiliary gate is preferably. provided with aprojecting flange i of rubber or other yieldable material which engageswith the ower edge of the other gate member in the closed positions ofthe,gates.' Consequently if one orfmore raisins should becaught. be-

' gates.

tween the edges of the two gate members they would not be crushed,thetlegible flange yielding sufficiently topermit the bottomof thehopper to be closed even though one or more raisins be caughtbetweenthe-closing The weighing receptacles which are supported upon theendsof any suitable type of.

scale beams J are provided with "laterally projectingrollers e which liebetween a pair .of transverse flanges i andi upon the'gate .member I."-lVhen the gates are closed and the receptacle swings upwardly afterhaving discharged its load, the roller engages with As soon as the maingate has been 'moved past the critical angle the completion of theopening. is effected by means'of: the shifting weight. When thereceptacle descends, the roller engages with "the lower flange i on-thegate and swings the: te in the-closing direction until the critica angleis again passed, whereupon "the gate. auto matically completesits-closing movement. The flanges with which the roller onthe receptacleengages are. preferably so located thatthe receptacle is left entirelyfree after the gates have been swung in one direction orthe other, this.being particularly true at the time the receptacle is in its, raisedposition. Consequently the weighing may be done withcxtreme accuracy.

Betweenieach sectionof the .main hopper ,t in sliding member. -An arm isprojects laterally from the gate K and is connected to one arm of a bellcranlrglever K. The other arm of the leveris connected to-an'operating'K this being preferablyinthe form of a :rod L which is-actuated-inamanner to be -hereinafter. described. Whefnthe gate K is opened thematerial is. allowed to'flow freely from the main into the auxiliaryhopper. When the-gate is partially closed it provides 'a drip opening.through which the material is fed slowly. The operating mechanisms aresuch that at the time a rece )taclc is discharged and the lower end of1ts auxiliary.

hoplper is closed, the gate'K will be opened su ciently long to permitalmost the entire charge for the receptacle to be deposited in theauxiliary. hopper. The-gate K is then partly closed and, when'thereceptacle asthereby insuring that the supply will be cut ofi as soonasthe receptacle 1s filled.

is a shaft M 'uponwhieh are carried arms N, there being one of thesearms for each receptacle. Each of these arms isadapted to overlie a pina projecting from the side of i Arranged in rearoftthe severalreceptacles the receptacleso that when the arm is swung downwardly thereceptacle is positively forced inthes ame direction; On this same shaftaresipivoted aseries of supporting members of these membershas an arma'undcrlyihg the laterally projecting pin e'.; and 'anarm there beingone supporting member for each of the receptacles. Each o. whichprojectsdownwardlyand is ada-pt- 'ed tobe engaged by.- neansf ot a travelingstopof any kind.

Thedischarge gates are preferabl pri r e t, dogs fpivoted uponceptacles. I P is the main shaft of the machine and it carries ti e, parranged to engage with the rear endsof'thearms N so as to force. the

the back of the reof the receptacles of the kind shown in my ing heldclosed by means. of

front ends .of these arms downwardly against the pins on t-hereceptacles; cams 7 for engaging with the dogs E and tripping the gatesoft-he receptacles and also p ns 1) which are so positioned as to.engage with the depending arms a of the members 0' just as and for ashort timeafter the recep- 4 and the corresponding auxiliary hopper is atacles reach their uppermost positions after 13';

2 v with an elongated o ening Z rounds the correspon ing cam. In onecorhaving discharged their loads. While one of the ins p is inengagement with the correspon ing arm the receptacle with which theseparts are associated is, locked against downward movement. It will beseen that this 'lockinggof the receptacles takes place comcidently withthe'discharge ofthe main portion of the load from the auxiliary hoppersto the rece tacles so that the shock of. -'10 the falling loa is borneby a rigid abut ment; Shortly after the-main portion of the load hasbeen dumped into a receptacle the corresponding supporting memberO isred leased from engagement with the pin pso that the receptacleis freeto descend as soon as the drip stream has completely supplied Ethe load.The main shaft may also conveniently carry a series of cams Q which aresurrounded by shoes L secured to the 2 lower ends of theoperating rods Lfor the gates K. The cams Q, may be substantially circular in form withasectionremoved so as to provide 'a recess g bounded on one side by ashoulder g. -The shoe L is provided which surdropping the shoecarriesthe gate K from the position indicated in Fig. 7 to a posia henwherein the mouth of the auxiliary hopper is completely opened.Thereafter as the cam continues its rotation it strikes againstthehorizontal edge Z and gradually v 'raises the shoe thereby returnin thegate'to the osition indicated'in Fig. The gate is t en heldin its partlyclosed position while the cam'completes a movement equal to the greaterportioniof a circle.

When the shoe drops in the manner described, so as to completely openthe gateK a mass of material is dumped into the auxili ary hopper,either filling it completely or only partially-as may bedesired. Whenthe shoe is raised again-so as to partially close the into the auxilia-hop er, provided that 1t is not already ull. EVhen the receptacle risesand permits the material to be dumped from the auxiliary hopper-the dripstream is either continuedorresumed (depending upon whether theauxiliary "hopper 'was nan or not} andpasses directly through the -auxiliary iopper into the receptacle. When the reoe tacle .is full anddescends the gates at the owyer end of the.auxiliarywhopper'are closedand the drip streamcontinues to flow into the hopper until. the gatebetween the hoppers is entirely opened, whereupon the material will flow.faster until the gate is again closed in the manner described.

The shoe L may be. formed in any. suit able manner. .Thus it may.consist conven-' .plates Z and l secured thereto, each of these plateshaving therein an opening i elongated in the 'vertical direction so astoclear the shaft during the movement of the shoe..

In order to support the carton-while it is being 'filled I have-provideda pairof platform members R and R which are hinged at 1' and 1"respectively so as to be capable members may conveniently be arranged ina slot .9 of a table or the like S. Depending from the members R and Rare a pair of weighted arms r and 0' respectively, these arms-being soarrangcd that they tend normally to-hold the members lland R in ahorizontal plane. The parts ,are locked with the supporting members in ahorizontal plane by means ofan arm T'which is pivoted at one end' tothearm. r? and has a hook t,90 in position to engage with a in r on the:other weighted arm. NV hen tie hook is in,.

ward movement but when the hook is lifted so as to free it from the pinthe weight of the carton and contents is enough to swing the. twoplatform members about their hinges so as to permit the carton to dropvertically through the slot in the table. The tripping of the member Tmay be acco m-'10o plished in any suitable manner thus, for example, ahinged (log T may be pivoted beneath the table as at t one end of thisdogprojectin below the free end of the gate the material will "continueto drip member bove the opposite end of the dogrises a rod T slidabl'ysupported in suitable brackets T and. T on the table and the frame oftheweighing machine respectively, beneath andin the plane ot' the shoe Lassociated with'the corresponding 11o scalcf Normally'the rod '1 is heldin its raised position by means of aspring t; When the shoe L d1'ops,-itstrikes the upper" end of the rod and forces the 'rod' down" pivot andkicking the hook whichhicks the two platform members out. ofengagementwith the pin r". The carton is then free. to drop and after it hasdroppedthew weighted arms on the platform members mo return them totheir'initial positions and-the gravity. a The main shaft may'bedrivcninany suitable *mannen and-"clutched and un- 125 clutched in anysuitable manner to asonrce. of power.- .The crankshaft-U fdr operatingthe 'plungersmaybe driven from the main shaft b meansofa -s rocket chainU.

Similar y the member D m the hopper may 13p.

,iently of an inner blockZF and two outer of swinging intoverticalplanes. These so place the carton is firmly held againstdown:

wardly, therebyturning the (log T. on itshook drops into azlockingpositionby be driven slowly by means of a sprocket chain D actuated bythe main shaft. The

shafts C may be geared together and either one may be driven in anysuitable manner, as for example, by\means of a belt W from thecounter-shaft. It will then be seen that my improved machine will weighquickly and accurately due to the separation of the main portion of theload independentlyw of the weighing receptacle and permitting thereceptacle to be delicately poised at the time of completing the load:furthermore materials may be operated upon without danger of injurybecause of the use of a gate between the hoppers which never closescompletely and a second gate which has a flexibl'e portion whereby astream may be checked even though some material may have become lodgedbetween the flexible portion and the member which cooperates therewithto efiect the closure. When seeded raisins and the like are to beoperated upon all danger of clogging is avoided by reason of the gentleyet positive agitating device in the main hopper and the peculiar shapesof the auxiliary hopper and the weighing receptacle.-

It will of course be understood that when my improved machines are usedin the form of a battery as illustrated the mechanisms are adjusted asin .my aforesaid patent so that the several machines deliver their chares in rotation W ile Iv have illustrated and described in detail 0 1y apreferred embodimentof the various features of my invention, I do notdesire to be limited to this particular embodiment, since in its broaderaspects the various features of my invention may take various otherforms, may be used in other situations, and may be combined together ina single machine or used separately as will be evident from the termsemployed in the definitions of my invention which constitute theappended claims. Having now fully described my invention, what I clalmas new and desire to secure by 4 Letters Patent is:

the drip to 'thereceptacle and for checking the drip upon the completionof the load. 5 2. In a weighing machine, a weighin receptacle, a supplyhopper, an auxillary opper, means independent of the receptacle fordelivering the main portion of a load for the receptacle from theslipply hopper to the auxiliary hopper and ormin' a drip passage betweenthe hoppers, .a ischarge gate associated with said auxiliary hopper, and

means on said receptacle for actuating said gate. I 3. In a weighingmachine, a weighing receptacle, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper, agate between saidhoppers, means for actuating said gate so as to deposita portion of a load for the receptacle and then reduce the gate-openingto a drip passage, a discharge gate on said auxiliary hopper,

and means on said receptacle for actuating said latter gate.

4. In a weighing machine, a hopper, a discharge gate associated withsaid hopper, said gate being constructed and arranged to assumeautomatically the open position and the closed position after passing apredetermined position in one direction or the other, a weighingreceptacle, and a lost motion connection between said gate and saidreceptacle for causing the gate to be carried past said predeterminedposition upon the ascent and the descent of the receptacle, saidconnection being so arranged as to leave the receptacle free of the gatewhen the receptacle is in its raised position. 1

5. In a weighing machine, a hopper, a discharge gate associated withsaid hopper, said gate being constructed and arranged to assume the openand the closed positions automatically after passlng a predetermined:

associated with said receptacle for moving said gate past saidpredetermined position both-upon theascent and the descent of thereceptacle.

6. In a weighing machine, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper beneaththe supply hopper, a sliding gate arranged between said hoppers, adischarge .gate associated with said auxiliary hopper, a weighingreceptacle, means independent of the weighing receptacle for actuatingsaid sliding gate between a position wherein it is wholly open and aposition wherein it is still partially open, and means on saidreceptacle for actuating said discharge gate.

7. In a weighing machine, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper, a gatebetween said hoppers movable between limits wherein it is Wholly openand wherein it is still partially open, means for actuating said gate, adischarge gate for said auxiliaryhopper,

a'weighing receptacle beneathsaid auxiliary hopper, and means on saidreceptacle ,for actuating said latter gate.

8. In a weighing machine, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper beneathsaid supply hopper, a weighing receptacle beneath sald auxiliary hopper,a gate between said hoppers arrange .to be movable within limits whereinit-is whollyopen and wherein' it is still partially open, means foractuating said gate, a discharge gate associated with said auxiliaryhopper and arranged to assume the open or the closed position afterbeing moved past a predetermined position in one direction or the other,and means associated with said receptacle for actuating said latter gatepast said predetermined position duringthe ascent and the descent of thereceptacle.

9. In a weighing machine, a funnel, a tilting platform arranged beneaththe funnel in position to support a carton telescoped upon the funnel, alock for normally holding iaii platform, and means for actuating said10. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, means for delivering aload to said receptacle, a funnel beneath said receptacle,power-actuated mechanism for causing the receptacle to discharge intosaid funnel, a movable platform for supporting a carton telescoped aboutsaid funnel said platform being arranged to be actuated by a filledcarton to permit the carton todrop from the funnel, a device fornormally locking said platform in position to hold the 'carton in placeabout the funnel, and means controlled by said mechanism for releasingsaid device after a carton has received a charge.

11. In a weighing machine, a funnel,- means for delivering a charge intosaid funnel, a tilting platform for supporting a carton in telescopicrelation to the funnel, said platform being arranged to tilt under theweight of a filled carton so as to permit the carton to drop from thefunnel, a lock for normally holding said platform against tilting, andmeans for releasing said lock.

12. In a weighing machine, aweighing receptacle, a supply hopper, anauxiliary hopper, a gate between said hoppers movable within limitswherein it is wholly open and wherein it is still partially open,poweractuating mechanism for moving said gate at predeterminedintervals, a discharge gate for said auxiliary hopper, a weighingreceptacle beneath said auxiliary "hopper, and

means associated with said receptacle for causing said discharge gate toclose when the load in the receptacle reaches a predetermined weight.

' 13. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, means independent-ofthe receptacle for separating from a mass of material at predeterminedintervals the main portion of a load for the receptacle and forming arestricted passage to deliver a dri and means controlled by thereceptacle or admitting the main portion of a load and the drip to thereceptacle and for checking the drip upon the completion of the load.

14:. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, means for separatingfrom a mass of material at redetermined intervals the main portion 0aload for the receptacle and forming a restricted passage to deliver adrip, means controlled by the movement of the receptacle for admittingthe main portion of the load and the drip to the receptacle and forchecking the drip upon the completion of the load, and means forautomatically compelling the receptacle to move in the direction forchecking the drip at predetermined ervals.

15. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, a supply hopper, anauxiliary hopper, a gate located between said hoppers and constructedand arranged to be movable betweenlimits wherein it is wholly andwherein it is still partially open, a powerdriven shaft, connectionsbetween said shaft and said gate for moving said gate at predeterminedintervals, a discharge gate for said auxiliary hopper, a weighingreceptacle beneath said auxiliary hopper, means asso ciated with saidreceptacle for opening said discharge gate and for causing it to closewhen the load in the receptacle reaches a predetermined amount, andmeans connected with said shaft for compelling said receptacle to movein the direction for causing said discharge gate to close atpredetermined intervals.

16.. In a weighing machine, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper, a gatebetween said hoppers movable between limits wherein it is wholly openand wherein it is still partially open, power-actuated mechanism foroperatin said gate at predetermined intervals, a discharge gate for saidauxiliary hopper, a weighing receptacle, means associated with saidreceptacle for controlling the latter gate, a device connected with saidmechanism for compelling said receptacle to move downwardly once in eachpredetermined interval, and a device associated with said mechanism forlocking the receptacle against downward movement at the time suchdischarge gate is open.

17. In a weighing machine, a supply hopper, an auxiliary hopper, a gatebetween said hoppers, power-actuated mechanism for operating said gateat predetermined intervals, a discharge gate for said auxiliary hopper,a weighing receptacle, means associated with said receptacle forcontrolling said discharge gate, a platform for supporting a carton inposition to receive the contents of said receptacle, a lock for saidplatform, and a device operated. by said mechanism for releasing saidlock.

18. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, means for delivering aload to said receptacle, a movable latform for su porting a package inposition to receive t e contents of said receptacle, power-actuatedmechanism for compelling said rece tacle to discharge, and meansassociated .wit mechanism for locking said platform.

19. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, means independent ofthe recepsaid tacle for separating from a mass of material atpredetermined intervals, a charge equal to theniain portion'of a loadfor the receptacle, means controlled by the receptacle for causing saidcharge to be dropped into the receptacle, a device-for supporting thereceptacle during delivery f of said' charge, and means foractuating'said device so as to releasethe receptacle after the deliveryof said charge. I

20. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, power-actuated meansfor separating from a mass of material at predetermined intervals, achar e equal to the main portion of a load for t ereceptacle, meanscontrolled 'bytherecep'tacle for causing said charge to be dropped intothe receptacle, a device for supporting the receptacle during deliveryof said char e and connections be- 20 tween said device an saidpower-actuating mechanism for moving said device into and out ofoperative relation with respect to said receptacle. v

21. In a weighing machine, a weighing receptacle, p ower vactuatedmechanism for separating from a mass of material at predeterminedintervals, a charge equal to the main portion Of a load for thereceptacle, means controlled by the receptacle for causing said chargeto be dropped into the receptacle and devices associated with said.mechanism for compelling the receptacle to move up and down duringpredetermined intervals. f In testimony whereof, I sign thisspecification in the presence of two witnesses.

- GEORGE HOEPNER. Witnesses:

HARRY S. GAITHER, RUBY V. NASH.

